Ring Around the Sun


Book Description

Coot Boldt and Narlow Montgomery sauntered across the wooden bridge into Juarez. Coot was dead set on honoring a lifelong friend’s resolve that the pair aid him in running munitions to Pancho Villa, while Narlow held back. A legless lad on a board with skate wheels in the gritty dust of Juarez Avenue tugged at Narlow’s trousers whose galluses must have been tied to his heartstrings. He bent to drop a dollar in the boy’s cup. The boy’s death-glaze-black eyes gleamed up, demanded more for Mexico than a coin. Coot and Narlow began shipping German-made Mausers and cartridges by rail to their contact in Tornillo, Texas, downstream from El Paso on the Rio Grande. German spies and operatives along the border were busy assuring that Uncle Sam embroiled itself in Mexico’s revolution and kept its long blue nose out of the European War. President Wilson’s munitions embargo dried up Villa’s supply, but the “Federales” sources were limited only by the government’s ability to crank their presses. Coot and Narlow ignored the embargo, flying munitions deep into Chihuahua in a Curtiss Pusher biwing. Would they be caught by US border guards and be the government’s guest at Leavenworth, or shot while fleeing from an arranged “Federale” escape?




Ring Around the Sun


Book Description

In this classic novel by the Science Fiction Grand Master, a writer searching for explanations uncovers the existence of mutants and multiple Earths: “First-rate Simak” (The New York Times). Author Jay Vickers would like nothing more than to be left alone so he can finish his next book. But “there’s something strange going on,” as his peculiar neighbor, Horton Flanders, says. For instance, the market is filling with new inventions that supposedly last forever—cars, razors, cigarette lighters, and more. Individuals and whole families are disappearing. Soon, even Mr. Flanders vanishes—but not before leaving Vickers a note. Following Flanders’s advice, Vickers travels to his childhood home, where he makes a fantastic discovery. It is a mere child’s toy, a brightly colored whistling top. But for Jay Vickers, it leads to other worlds and answers all his questions. What happened to all the vanished people? Who is behind these helpful inventions? And what sort of being would want to stop them. . . ? “Unforgettable.” —New York Herald Tribune “Solid entertainment, with plenty of startling plot twists.” —The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction “Some of the most ingenious plot twists in recent science-fiction.” —Galaxy




Ring Around the Sun


Book Description

Jay Vickers was an ordinary man, or so he thought. All he wanted was to be left in peace to finish his next book. However, strange things started happenin - from his discovery of a mouse that was not a mouse, to the visit of an old neighbor that was not a man. Or at least he was not an ordinary man. For as it turned out, neither was Jay Vickers. This is the story of human mutation - the next step in the evolution of the species. What if mutants walked among us already? What if they were organized? What if they had unbelievable powers, such as the ability to cross between alternate worlds or dimensions at will, or to intuitively reach the absolutely correct answer by intuition or "hunch", or to telepathically reach out to the stars? Such supermen would automatically try to conquer lesser men, would they not? Or would they do everything in their power to free the rest of humanity from slavery and suffering? Just what would the political and corporate powers-that-be do to keep their power and their slaves? How would mutants undermine the power of these bosses to set mankind free? This is a story of unlimited freedom, of worlds without end, ready for the taking. It is also the story of powerful, benevolent beings that exist only to help those who need that help. This is a future of a lop-sided mechanical culture of technology that could provide creature comfort for a few, but not human justice or security for the many. It is a future of hate, and war, and worry. Nothing like the way the world really turned out - after all, there couldn't really be an underground of mutants working to free humanity . . . could there?




Atmospheric Halos


Book Description




Farmers' Almanac 2008


Book Description

The Farmers Almanac is an annual publication published every year since 1818. It is the only publication of its kind which generations of American families have come to trust. Its longevity speaks volumes about its content which informs, delights, and educates. Best known for its long-range weather predictions, the Farmers Almanac provides valuable information on gardening, cooking, fishing, and more.




The Sun, the Earth, and Near-earth Space


Book Description

" ... Concise explanations and descriptions - easily read and readily understood - of what we know of the chain of events and processes that connect the Sun to the Earth, with special emphasis on space weather and Sun-Climate."--Dear Reader.




Atmospheric Halos and the Search for Angle X


Book Description

The familiar ring around the moon is an example of an atmospheric halo, which is a signature of ice crystals in the air, though the focus here is on odd radius halos. The shape of the ice crystals responsible is only just becoming understood, and is determined by angle x, which has yet to be identified. Tape and Moilanen (their affiliations are not stated), discuss the phenomenon and its possible causes. Some of the material is accessible to lay readers with some scientific background, and some requires college-level mathematics. One of their goals is to encourage the former to notice atmospheric halos--for example different sized ones around the sun--and to marvel at the mystery they present as well as their beauty. Annotation :2006 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com).




Usurper of the Sun


Book Description

Aki Shiraishi is a high school student working in the astronomy club and one of the few witnesses to an amazing event--someone is building a tower on the planet Mercury. Soon, the enigmatic Builders have constructed a ring around the sun, and the ecology of Earth is threatened by its immense shadow. Aki is inspired to pursue a career in science, and the truth. She must determine the purpose of the ring and the plans of its creators, as the survival of both species--humanity and the alien Builders--hangs in the balance. -- VIZ Media




Ringworld


Book Description

Winner of the Hugo and Nebula Awards for best novel Four travelers come to the ringworld. . . Louis Wu: human and old; bored with having lived too fully for far too many years. Seeking a challenge, and all too capable of handling it. Nessus: a trembling coward, a puppeteer with a built-in survival pattern of nonviolence. Except that this particular puppeteer is insane. Teela Brown: human; a wide-eyed youngster with no allegiances, no experience, no abilities. And all the luck in the world. Speaker-To-Animals: kzin; large, orange-furred, and carnivorous. And one of the most savage life-forms known in the galaxy. Why did these disparate individuals come together? How could they possibly function together? And where, in the name of anything sane, were they headed?